


Moving On

by oscarmilde, Raccccccoon



Category: Banana Fish (Anime & Manga)
Genre: Ash and Eiji are happy together, F/M, Fox had 3 childrens?, Foxx dies? LOL, M/M, Past Child Abuse, We don't know how many chapter there are going to be, We'll try and update as much as we can, bruh, should've been titled Jimmy Fox and Friends, sing's xbox gold cards
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-18
Updated: 2019-08-05
Packaged: 2020-03-07 02:50:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18864214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oscarmilde/pseuds/oscarmilde, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raccccccoon/pseuds/Raccccccoon
Summary: When Ash figures out the infamous bastard, Eduardo Fox, had a family, he recruits Blanca to tell them Fox is dead.





	1. Chapter 1

It had been two months since the whole Banana Fish fiasco occured. Ash continued to look through the files he recently discovered.

He couldn’t lie; things were a lot better now. After he was released from the hospital, he was adopted by Max and Jessica. They moved into his fancy apartment on 6th Avenue. After Eiji heard what happened, he immediately flew to New York to stay by Ash’s side.

So they all lived together now―like a family―the family Ash had never had. Just the thought of it made Ash crack a smile.

Ash currently worked as Max’s assistant. Eiji worked from home with photography, and took care of Michael when Max and Jessica weren’t around. 

It was late, and Ash was working at his desk. Eiji was asleep on their bed, but Ash stayed awake for a reason unknown to Eiji. Although Ash was done with his part in the Banana Fish case, which was soon to just be a memory in his life, he got curious. He had been the victim in the case and left the rest to the police. Something he normally would never do. He had no choice, he’d been so tired of this Banana Fish thing. Ash didn’t want to do it himself for once.

There was one person in particular who interested Ash. He already knew everything about Dino from being his favorite “pet”―the sick bastard. But Foxx was quite the mystery. He had first scoured the internet and researched for files about Foxx when he first found out Foxx was a threat.

He first went through the file he looked through when Foxx still a threat. It said he died in 2004, but that clearly wasn’t true. So he must have worked with a nameless mercenary. No wonder Dino had hired him, of course he would hire someone who was wiped off public record. The bald bastard hadn’t wanted anything shady happening under his name.

But there was something particular that caught Ash’s eye on the file he looked. Under where it said _“unknown mother and father”_ it stated _“spouse unknown”_. That’s what got Ash really curious. It made him dig more; he longed to know who this unknown woman was.

Ash was left in a sea of his own thoughts. _Does she even know he’s dead? She probably does, considering it says he died in 2004. But there’s a chance he hid it from her or she was involved and knew about the death he faked._

Ash turned his phone on to check the time. 3:02 a.m. it read. How long was he even staring at his computer screen for probably for hours. All he remembered is sitting down at his desktop after dinner and getting straight to work. (Of course he remembered wishing Eiji a goodnight, It would be silly of him to forget something like that.) Ash remembered Eiji giving him a peck on the cheek as they wished each other goodnight. God, he was so in love with Eiji. He blushed like an idiot every time he remembered something him and Eiji did during the day. Even small things like soft smiles or giggling like children at each others’ jokes. Although sometimes he had his downs―nightmares that left him waking up in a cold sweat, shaken with fear during ungodly hours of the night―Eiji was still there. Eiji still loved him. Eiji truly made him happy.

After more digging, he finally found what he was looking for―a picture of a young Fox and a young woman with brown medium-cut curly hair. He discovered her name was Amelie Van Aalten. Born in France to an Englishman as a father and French mother in 1981, she married Eduardo Foxx in November 1999. Currently, the file said―which meant however old this information was―she lived in New York City and ran a small dress shop in a relatively quiet part of Brooklyn.

Ash’s eyes widened at what he found next―a photo of James Foxx, born in 2003 to Amelie Van Aalten and Eduardo Foxx. He stared at it for a while in a state of utter shock. Ash tried everything to disprove this information. There were so many feelings and thoughts inside of him that wanted this information to be false. But there was something that pushed his curiosity more or even to edge.

He found information that seemed like it wasn’t public record. Stuff no one was supposed to know about, but being the genius he was, Ash knew how to use technology to an advantage. He found files on Edgar Foxx, born in 2006, and Annelies Foxx, born in 2008. There was little to no information on them compared to Amelie and their first child. Maybe Foxx didn’t want it to be public record because of his “death” in 2004. His family most likely didn’t know about his “job”. _I guess you can find everything on the internet_ , Ash thought.

No matter how much files his eyes scanned through and read, nothing seemed to debunk the horror that was Foxx having children. After what seemed like forever, Ash printed up the files. He didn’t know what to do with files like this, so he left them on his desk so he made a mental note to show Max and ask him what he thought.

He stared at Eiji sleeping in their bed as he took off his clothes. There was probably no point in changing or sleeping because there was probably only three hours until he had to wake up.

Ash got up behind Eiji and wrapped his arms around him. As much as Ash wanted to be held, he wanted to hold Eiji. Sleep hit Ash as soon as he closed his eyes. He never realized how tired he was while he was working. Ash’s mind was blank as he was carried into a peaceful sleep.

-

A ray of sunlight hit Ash’s face, disturbing him up from his “beauty sleep”―as Eiji would put it. He forced himself to crack one of his eyes open and saw Eiji opening the curtains. Eiji walked over to their bed. Ash felt Eiji’s attempts to shake him and encourage him to get up.

“Ash,” he whined. “Come on, you have to get up for work. Max is already ready and waiting for you.” 

Ash bolted up in bed at the reminder. “Eiji! Why didn’t you wake me up earlier?” 

Eiji pouted and looked at him. “What do think I’ve been trying to do for the past hour?”

Ash got out of bed in a hurry and headed over to his closet. He blindly grabbed one of his dress shirts, buttoned it up and put a solid color tie on. He slipped on his pants and socks. In quick but messy manner, Ash hurried out while trying to put his converse on.

“Really, converse and dress wear?” Eiji said.

“No one is going to care,” Ash countered. “Besides, it’s comfortable.”

Eiji had been trying to persuade Ash to get a new pair of shoes for a while, but Ash clung to his pair of red converse like a toddler did with a stuffed animal. Their red color was fading, the shoe soles were worn out, and his feet were getting too big for them. 

He grabbed the folder of files on his desk about Foxx, and rushed towards the door.

“Ash, wait.” Eiji spoke before he was about to leave their room. 

Ash stopped in his tracks. Eiji walked up to him and stood on his tippy toes. The blonde felt Eiji’s soft lips touch his cheek. A warm feeling flooded his cheeks. He looked and felt like an embarrassed teenager.

“Have a good day, Aslan,” Eiji said. 

“Y-yeah” was the only thing Ash could come up to respond with.

He left their bedroom and mentally face palmed himself. _“Yeah” that was all you could come up with. Even “you too” could of been a better response._

Ash Lynx may have had a genius IQ, but when he was around Eiji his intelligence was thrown out the window. It was like Max told him, he had a mind that worked like a computer, but when it came to Eiji, he couldn’t think straight. 

Max was waiting for him in the kitchen; Michael was still asleep. Max and Ash usually left before he woke up to get ready for school. Max was a little worried Michael wouldn’t adapt to the move to New York, but to his surprise Michael took it pretty well. He even referred to Ash as big bro sometimes. Jessica was taking a shower; she usually dropped Michael off at school on her way to work.

“Look who finally got up. I thought we were going to be late,” Max said. 

“Yeah yeah old man, you know I’m not much of a morning person,” Ash replied in a mocking tone.

He got into the passenger seat of Max’s car, while Max sat in the driver’s seat. He pulled out the lot and drove onto the busy streets of Manhattan. Ash stared out his window at the morning sky and the city sidewalks. Now was a good time to break the tired silence between him and Max.

“So, uh… Last night I was doing some digging around,” Ash started. Max’s eyes were focused on the busy road, but he gave a small nod that signaled Ash to continue. “I may have found a couple files on Fox and discovered that he had a wife and children.” 

Max stopped short at a red light when he heard this. His facial expression showing he was shocked beyond belief.

“I’m sorry, could you repeat?” Max asked in the calmest tone he could keep. 

“You know what I said.” Ash’s tone was serious as he continued speaking. “His wife is from France. He has three children. Two sons and a daughter.”

Max took in a deep breath and let out a sigh. “Are you sure? Are you absolutely positive?” He asked. 

“I’m absolutely positive,” The younger man confirmed. 

This information was as shocking to Ash as it was to Max. Neither of them had expected someone as evil as Foxx to have children, let alone be married. That poor woman must have been stuck with a bastard of a husband for years. But there was a chance she was just as bad as him― an evil woman for an evil man. Perhaps they fit like puzzle pieces.

“I have the files with me. I don’t have a lot of information on the two younger children, just their names and date of birth,” Ash said. “I’ll show them to you at work.”

They pulled into the parking lot of their workplace, and walked into the building. Luckily, their office was on the bottom floor, so they didn’t have to take an elevator. The two men clocked in, and went straight to Max’s little office.

Ash took the printed files out of the folder, and place them on the desk, presenting them to Max. Max picked up the files and began to skim through them. “It says his wife and first child were both born in France. Which most likely means that after Foxx faked his death, he relocated to America,” Max said. 

“Well, what do we do?” Ash asked. 

“We’ll have to tell the family he’s dead,” Max said.

“There is no way I’m doing that. I’m not going to some woman’s home and telling them ‘Good evening madam, I’m here to inform you I took a power drill and drilled through your husband’s chest and then he was shot,’” the blonde said to the older male. 

“I don’t want to do it either! The only crying woman I’m willing to be around is Jessica,” Max countered.

“This will take an expert in women, someone who could say the worst things to another person but not feel any emotion―or just someone willing to do it.” Ash thought for a while, then an idea of who could do it popped into his head. “I have just the right man to do it. I’ll give him a call after work.” 

“OK, great,” Max said, relieved that he didn’t have to tell a woman that her husband was dead.

The rest of the day went slowly for Ash. There wasn’t a whole lot of work he could do as an assistant; he printed papers, answered calls, researched, and sometimes made calls for Max. Ash hadn’t told anyone, but he was thinking about going to college. He wanted to explore his interests. He didn’t know if it was true, but he heard Cain was studying law. He knew Alex, Bones, and Kong also quit gang life―Bones told him that Alex got a girlfriend. Sing had texted him paragraphs of complaints about how Nadia was trying to get him back in school a few weeks ago. And as much as Ash liked Sing, he agreed with Nadia on this one. It was what Shorter would’ve wanted.

When Ash got home, the first thing he did was greet Eiji―then he headed to his room. He changed into the more comfortable clothes he wore at home, and sat on his bed. The blonde dialed a number down on his phone. He stared at it for a while, contemplating if he should call, his thumb shaking in anticipation while it hovered over the call button. After what seemed like forever but was only two minutes, Ash finally pressed the button. He held the phone up to his ear. After a few rings, he finally answered.

“Hello, Sergei,” Ash greeted the person on the other line. 

“Ash? Is that you?” Blanca asked. He sounded extremely tired. 

“Yep,” Ash replied, getting straight to business. “I have a job for you.”

“I don’t know about it. I told you I’m retired now,” the older man said to Ash. 

“Please, you’re the only person who would agree to this. I promise I’ll pay you.” Ash threw in the offer, knowing Blanca might agree to it. 

“I’m interested. Who do you want me to get rid of?” The reply made Ash think a little. Did people hire Blanca just to use him as a weapon, a killer? It reminded Ash of himself in a way. Blanca had a role to play and it was the role of a cold hearted killer.

“I never said you had to kill anyone,” Ash pointed out. 

“Really?” There was shock in Blanca’s voice.

 “I found out Foxx had a family. A wife and three children. I don’t think they know he’s dead,” Ash said. “I want you to tell them he’s dead. I’ll give you more information on them if you take the job.”

“I’ll do it,” Blanca agreed.

“Alright, get here as soon as possible. I’ll see you in a couple days or something.”

Ash hung up the call before the other could say farewell. He sighed in relief knowing that he wouldn’t have to tell them himself. The blonde could lie to himself that he wasn’t afraid all he wanted, but he knew he wouldn’t be able to face the family of the man he almost killed no matter how brave he acted.

Eiji came in the room minutes late, telling him that dinner was ready. Ash was relieved― he was ready to eat and then pass out on his bed for the night.

-

People always considered Blanca a classy man. He was well-mannered and put together, yet so mysterious at the same time. Alone in his small house, by a beach in the Caribbean, his fancy facade faded. Blanca was a sophisticated man, but Sergei was a lonely shell of a man who ran from his problems and got his only love killed by dragging her into his life of danger.

He left his bed to look in the bathroom mirror. There was no way to sugarcoat it―he looked like a mess. He had a five o’clock shadow, bags formed under his eyes, and a case of messy bedhead. He would have to do the best he can to clean himself up before he left for New York.

His hand turned the cold water knob on his sink. As the cool water spilled from the faucet, he splashed some on his face to wake himself up. He took another good at himself in the mirror before grabbing a razor to shave. 

After cleaning himself up in the bathroom, he changed into his usual business clothes. He filled a suitcase with things like suits. Honestly, he wanted to leave this place as soon as possible; The Caribbean wasn’t like it had been described to him. To him, it was lonely. Just another way to escape from his problems.

He booked a flight that was only two hours from now. Before he headed out the door, he looked back at his cottage. It was quiet and empty. He wasn’t necessarily excited to leave, but rather, he was eager to get away from his typical loneliness. The door closed and he stood outside. Back to New York it was―for the second time in only a couple months.

-

A week later, Blanca arrived in New York. It was a Saturday. Ash was going to spend his day off with Eiji, but he had to tell Eiji that he had business to attend to for work. Blanca and Ash met up at a cafe. It was busy and there were a lot of people speaking over each other, so no one could hear what they were talking about.

“So,” Blanca said, sitting down beside Ash. “What’s up?”

“Here,” Ash said, sliding the document over to Blanca, “is a record of all of Fox’s legal family. I want you to tell them that Fox is dead.”

“I know,” Blanca said. 

He flipped through the documents. His eyes scanned through each of them. There were no pictures of his two youngest children but there was a picture for his first son. They were just a baby, but they had the same ugly light brown hair color Fox had, and the same eye color. Fox’s eyes always looked empty of any emotion but sick corruption, but the baby’s eyes were joyful and pure.

Something inside of Blanca made him think that he was invading someone’s personal life. It wasn’t like he cared about Fox’s feelings―he was dead anyway. He just thought it would be better to stay out of the family’s personal life. But a job was a job―and what would he be doing back in The Caribbean besides mourning a loss that he should’ve gotten over ages ago.

“I’ll go there tomorrow night.” Tomorrow was a Sunday. Ash and Blanca looked up the shop Fox’s wife owned. It was small and had a vintage look to it. It fit the part of the city it was in―an area which was full of older buildings and shops. Mostly lower class people lived there. It closed early on the weekends, which meant she’d most likely be home by the time Blanca showed up.

He shook hands with Ash, and they said goodbye to each other. Blanca headed back to where he was staying. Tomorrow was soon to come and he was interested to see how it would play out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The day came quicker than Blanca had expected. Will Foxx's family be able to take the news about their loss well?

 

Sunday night came quickly. The sun had set; it was about 8:00. Blanca drove through the dark street. This part of the city was probably the quietest Manhattan could ever get. There was a little problem, though. He was surrounded by small apartments and didn’t quite know which one he was supposed to go into.

He parked next to the sidewalk in front of a small drug store. His eyes scanned the areas. The shops were old and so were the apartments. Asking around where Foxx’s family lived wouldn’t hurt to try, but it would make him look like some sort of creep. Outside the drug store were some tables outside. It looked more like a hangout for troublesome teenagers than a drug store. He opened the door, where a bell went off alerting his presence. The man at the counter looked at him. He was old. If Blanca had to guess, he was probably in his early seventies. There was another man cleaning off the counter. He was middle aged and looked like a younger version of the old man. There was teenage boy stocking shelves who stopped what he doing when he noticed Blanca’s presence. The boy had a rusty brown hair color with a hairstyle that curled in the front similar to the middle aged man at the counter. His pants were covered in dirt. In fact, it looks like this kid rolled around in dirt. All of them looked related. They all had the same skinny body type. The store was probably family owned.

Blanca was dragged out of his thoughts when he heard someone whistle at him. It was old man at counter signaling him to come over.

“Hey you, big guy.” He called getting Blanca’s attention. Blanca heard a faint Russian accent in his voice. “I’ve never seen you around here before.” 

This man was different than most older people Blanca’s met. Most older people he’s met respected him―even the people who hired him. This man had whistled to call him over like he was a dog.

“I’m looking for someone,” Blanca replied. He heard the teenage boy snickering in the background.

“Who? I know everyone in the neighborhood,” the old man said.

“Amelie Van Aalten. I have a message to give her.”

“Jimmy’s mom?” The teenage boy said aloud.

“I know where the madam lives,” The elder told him, looking him straight in the eye. For the first time in a while, Blanca felt nervous.

“Russ, come over here,” he called the teenager over. The boy ran over to the counter tripping over himself making the old man shake his head and sigh. “Take this man to Jimmy’s place and come right back here after. Don’t pull anything funny. Got that?” The young boy nodded his head.

“Alright gramps,” he said impatiently. The boy, “Russ”, pointed towards the door. “Quit staring at me would ya’. Let’s go already.”

Blanca followed him out the store. There was an apartment built on top of the drug store. He assumed that was where the boy and his family lived.

“Sorry about my grandfather, he can act cold sometimes,” the boy apologized. They stopped in front of the apartment right next to the drug store. It was right in front of him the whole time. Blanca felt stupid. He felt someone hit his back. When he turned it was the boy.

“What’s your message about anyway?” He asked.

“It’s personal.” Blanca replied.

“Is it a message from Jimmy’s dad?”

“I told you it’s personal.”

“Alright, jeez,” the teenager said. “I assume you can knock on the door yourself, so I’m just gonna go.” When Blanca looked at the door and turned back to look at the boy, the boy was already making a run for it back to his grandfather’s store.

He stared at the door contemplating if he was ready to knock yet or not. After a couple minutes, he raised his hand and knocked on the door. On the other side of the door, he heard a muffled girl’s voice calling out to someone.

The doorknob turned on the other side, opening. It made the tall man jump a little. Facing Blanca was a woman with short brown hair with natural curls in it. She looked like the woman in the file Ash showed but a little older and her hair was shorter. The cardigan sweater she wore was a lavender purple and a little big on her. There were faint bags under her eyes and she looked terrified when she saw Blanca. It must of been his towering height or his broad build. Blanca has never seen a woman more scared of him than this woman was right now.

“Hello,” Blanca greeted in his usual smooth voice.

“H-hi,” she stuttered back.

“Are you Amelie Van Aalten? I have a message for you.”

“Yes, that’s me. It must be cold out. Would you like to come in?”

“Sure.”

The apartment was small. The kitchen and living room were practically colliding with each other. There was a small upstairs with two bedrooms.

Blanca sat on the couch. Two boys, who were sitting at the small kitchen table, were staring awkwardly at him. They must have been Foxx’s sons. One of them looked to be the same age as the boy at the drugstore; he was tall, with a lanky build. The other boy looked to be about twelve or thirteen; he had the same scrawny body as his older brother. Their hair color matched their father’s, and the older son shared a lot of Foxx’s features. The boys’ hair still kept their mother’s curls. Sitting next to the boys was a girl who looked to be the youngest of the three. She looked like a younger version of her mother. The girl was scribbling in a journal, and looked like she was writing a best selling novel.

“So, what’s the message you’ve got for me?” Amelie said, sitting down on a rugged old couch, and handing him a cup of tea. 

Blanca muttered a “thank you”. Their home may of been small, but it gave off a homely feeling.

“I have news about your husband, Eduardo Foxx,” he told the woman. The young girl gasped. Blanca looked back at the children. Shocked expressions were on their faces by the mention of that man’s name. The girl closed her book and the boys put the card they were playing with down. Blanca heard the quick footsteps from them scattering off to their rooms. The door to the boys’ room slammed, leaving Blanca and Amelie alone together.

“I’m sorry―that was quite rude of them,” Amelie apologized. She seemed to calm down a little. Blanca was thinking of an easy way to say this.

“I’m so sorry, madam,” he said in a smooth tone. “Your husband is dead.”

“O-oh,” was all she could get out. She didn’t know how to feel. Blanca was expecting her to cry, or at least have a sad expression. But he couldn’t describe the look on her face. She didn’t look sad at all; she seemed deep in thought. Her tired eyes gazed into Blanca’s.

“How did he die?” She asked solemnly.

“I do not know,” Blanca lied swiftly. “I’m just a messenger.” He didn’t want to tell her of the horrible things that her husband did. The things he did to Ash. She seemed like a nice woman, and Blanca wasn’t sure she could handle the gruesome details. He was sure the news of her husband’s death was enough for her.

“I see…” There was a silence before she spoke again, trying to drive the awkward conversation away from the death of her husband. “I’ll guess you’ll be on your way now.”

“Yes, thank you for the tea, it was very kind of you.” Blanca stood up from the couch and made his way out the door. He exited the apartment, leaving the now-widowed wife alone with her thoughts.

-

Amelie didn’t know how to feel. She shouldn’t feel sad―her husband left four years ago. And although she hated him so much, she felt tears forming in her eyes. 

“Don’t cry,” she told herself. “He was a liar. He hurt you. He hurt others. He hurt your children. He hurt  _ our _ children.” Her voice quivered as she talked to herself in quiet tone. The man was evil, but she still cried despite what she told herself.

She went to the bathroom to calm down, staring at her reflection. Her cheeks were stained with tears.

After minutes of trying to calm herself, she opened the door to her sons’ room. Edgar and James shared a room. James usually went by “Jimmy” or “Jim”. He was rarely called James. Edgar usually went by “Eddie” or “Ed”. They both preferred being called by their nicknames.

Jimmy looked a lot like his father; Amelie knew her son absolutely loathed it. But they were very different. Appearance was just appearance. Jimmy loved to sing, dance, and act. He had different passions and dreams. His father always tormented him for being into that stuff. Amelie’s son’s eyes were full of life, unlike the cold ones that had belonged to his father. Despite just recently turning sixteen, the kid worked himself hard. He worked as a car mechanic. Sometimes he wouldn’t come home until late because he stayed overtime to get paid more.

Eddie was an interesting kid. He was a smart kid and enjoyed reading, something his older brother never understood. Ed liked to play baseball, especially with his brother. They would go out with Jimmy’s friends and play a friendly game with each other every once in awhile. Her sons would come home tired and covered in dirt from sliding into bases and diving to catch a ball.

“Hey, I have something to tell you two.” The boys looked up at her. They were sitting on the floor next to their bed. Jimmy was showing Eddie a picture of a cool sports car he repaired at work. He liked to take pictures of some of the fancy and cool cars he repaired so he could show them to Eddie.

“What is it mom?” Her older son asked. Seeing the concerned expression on his face made her want to cry again.

“Well, it’s about your father.” Jimmy tensed up. He didn’t have a lot of good memories of his father.

“He passed away,” Amelie said to them.

She saw her daughter, Anne, in the doorway, who looked like she had heard her mom’s words. Eddie looked down at the floor. The room was so quiet at this point, the only thing that could be heard was the cool wind outside.

“It’s okay to cry if you want,” she told her daughter. Anne couldn’t cry, though. Even if he was her dad, she didn’t remember much about him. When she asked her older brother about him, the only that came out of his mouth were harsh sentences and swear words.

“Is that what that man told you?” Jimmy asked. Amelie nodded.

“Who was he?” He questioned.

“I don’t know, he said he was a messenger,” she replied.

“Maybe we should just call it a night. I’m getting sleepy,” Anne cut in before the conversation could escalate; she didn’t want to hear about this subject, and none of them could blame her. No one in their home liked to talk about Eduardo Foxx.

Amelie wished her kids goodnight. That night Anne slept with her. Amelie didn’t mind, though―right now she needed the company.

Around 11:30 at night, Jimmy heard a knock on his window. He already knew who it was. He opened the window for them.

Russ was waiting for him on the fire escape staircase next to Jimmy’s window. He opened it and climbed out, sitting next to his friend. It was chilly outside, but they didn’t seem to care. The two always stayed out late and getting into to trouble. Sometimes their other friends joined them to wreak havoc on the neighborhood late at night. Running around causing trouble was considered a regular Saturday for them.

“Who was that big guy who dropped by?” Russ asked.

“He just had a message for my mom,” Jimmy said.

“Did you get a raise?” The other boy said.

“Nah, but I wish I did.”

“C’mon Jimmy―just tell me what he said already,” he said.

There was a quiet pause for a couple of seconds before Jimmy spoke. “My father’s dead.”

“Really?” Russ knew about Jimmy’s relationship with his father. He knew Jimmy like he knew himself. “Are you sad?”

“No, not really. I just don’t want my mom to be even more stressed out than she already is. She works real hard, you know.”

“Yeah, I get you.” Russ patted his friend on the back. “Why don’t we just forget about it. Your dad was a bastard. There’s nothing to be sad about, anyway.” There was another silent pause before Russ suggested something. “We should go on a walk.”

“Sure, let me grab my coat and shoes,” Jimmy agreed, even though it was late. He went back inside to get his things, and when he came back out, Russ was at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hurry Jim, we don’t got all night.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m comin’ okay.”

The two boys walked away from the small apartment. This part of the city was never really busy at night. If anything, it was kind of quiet.

Russ could tell his friend was stressed out. There were bags under his eyes from working so late. Jimmy had to do a backbreaking labor job and Russ knew it stressed him out, not to mention the news he’d just gotten. 

The two boys were soundless, except for their light footsteps and cars in the distance from the busy part of the city.

The two rarely went to the noisy―and wealthy―part of the city. Aside from the fact that it was very loud compared to where they lived, they didn’t belong there. Anyone could tell from the way they looked; their clothes were dirty and worn out. They had some dress clothes, but they weren’t anything compared to the fancy suits that they saw businessmen or other rich people wear daily. They mostly wore their nice clothes to church.

In school, they weren’t treated very well by other students. The other day, Russ was chased home by a group of rich senior boys. He ran all the way back to his grandfather’s drug store until his legs gave out.

Jimmy was thrown into a fence by the same group of boys once; it was rough, and the rusty metal fence cut him up. They spat on him, and told him they were cleaning the dirt off him. Jimmy was a tall kid; he was six foot one, but still cowered to their beatings and harsh words. Those rich kids always acted like they were above Jimmy and Russ, because they had fancy cars and expensive clothing. The other boys in their friend group were also tormented by those rich assholes. Russ liked to refer to their group as a gang because it made them look tougher. Jimmy didn’t mind, and neither did their other friends; they liked it too. Russ always liked the idea of being in a gang and looking tough. He referred to their wealthy bullies as “socs” because he read it in a book. Jimmy was shocked Russ even read.

“How’s work lately?” Russ asked the other boy.

“It’s good. I’m bringing home decent money. How’s your grandpa doing?” He replied.

“He’s alright, same cranky old man as always. Some fancy men came in last weekend. You were at work though. They said they were from the Lee family or something like that. One of them looked like a teenager but he was real girly. They wanted to buy the place―Gramps refused and cursed them out in Russian. You should of seen the look on that kid’s face when he said no, my dad and I were laughing our asses off when they left,” Russ said. Jimmy chuckled.

It was a common thing for businesses and stuff to try and buy that shop. They always wanted to turn it into some building for their companies. Russ’s grandpa was seventy-three and he’d had it since he was twenty. That old man wasn’t give up that shop until he was dead, and if Russ’s dad took over the store, Jimmy doubts he’d sell it either. A lot of the shops in that area were family owned, so it would be rare for the owners to sell, especially to some soulless corporation.

Jimmy felt his friend tug on his shoulder. Russ pointed to the corvette cruising down the street. The taller boy cursed under his breath. They both knew who the car belonged to; it was one of those rich boys who terrorized them.

“Jim, what should we do? They… They’re gonna jump us,” Russ said, panicked. Jimmy stared at the car that was approaching them. He wasn’t able to act fast enough; the car’s owner spotted them and made his way over to them, pulling over at the sidewalk.

Two boys got out of the car with intimidating looks on their faces. Both of them were seniors and around Jimmy’s height, but they had much more muscle than Jimmy had.

“What are you two little dirty rats doin’ out here so late,” one of them said. “Didn’t your mommy ever tell you not to stay up late?” Jimmy could tell that they were drunk. Their sentences were slurred, their breaths stunk, and if that didn’t give it away, the sick looks on their faces did. He looked at Russ, and saw he was keeping a cool persona so he decided to do the same. They gave the “socs” a look telling them to leave them alone.

“Fuck off Daniel, we don’t want any trouble,” Russ said cooly. The senior, Daniel, didn’t seem to take the words that came out of Russ’s mouth too kindly. His face had an aggressive look on it.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Daniel said, pulling a switchblade from his pocket. “Let’s play a game of tag. We’ll run after you, and you make sure we don’t catch you.” Jimmy gulped, and he could tell Russ was trembling a little.

Daniel started to count down, “One, two… THREE!” He shouted. Russ and Jimmy took off and ran as fast as they could. Jimmy looked back and saw the two muscular socs behind them. Even though Jimmy and Russ had a lot less muscle on them, they were still able to outrun the boys chasing them.

“Jim, the basketball court.” His friend panted. The two ran through the basketball court. No one was there this late at night. The pavement cracked, almost causing Jimmy to trip. It was hard to see when it was this late in the night. They jumped the fence. The boys were practically experts at jumping the fence. Russ could hop over one like it was a hurdle. The boy was very good at acrobatics; he could do all sorts of jumps and flips. When it came to escaping a couple of bullies, it was put to good use. If running from socs was a sport, the two of them would be gold medalists.

“Russ, this way!” Jimmy shouted. His friend followed him into an alleyway where they hid next to a dumpster. The two were panting trying to catch their breath. They lost the seniors when they jumped the fence at the basketball court.

After a few minutes the two came out of hiding in the alleyway. Russ was panting after running. That was the second time in a week he had to run from those bullies.

“Let’s go home,” Jimmy said. Russ nodded in agreement. They weren’t too far from the basketball court, so they could walk home. It was very late, and the two were exhausted. 

Jimmy hoped his mother didn’t notice he was gone; he didn’t want to worry her. Russ dragged his feet along the sidewalk, which caused Jimmy to look at him.

“Do you want me to carry you or something?” Jimmy offered.

“Quiet, you. I’m just tired,” Russ shot down his offer. “That’s the second time this week Daniel and his boys have been after me this week.”

Jimmy sighed. He hated when those boys targeted his friends. They’d been jumped too many times to count. Those seniors were drunk, and could’ve seriously hurt them if they didn’t run fast enough.

The duo reached their apartments. Russ’s was built on top of the drug store, and Jimmy’s was in the building next to his friend’s on the first floor. Their homes were old; Russ’s grandpa said that the apartments were there when he came to America.

“See you tomorrow, buddy,” Russ said.

“Goodnight, Rusty.” Jimmy used one of his nicknames for Russ; Russ’s full name was Russell, but Jimmy rarely used it. It was only used when his parents or grandparents were mad at him. The same applied for Jimmy’s name, James. It was only used by his mother when he got into trouble. They called their other friends by nicknames as well. Things were just easier that way.

Jimmy went up the fire escape stairs, and snuck back in through the window he left open. He closed it quietly, trying not to wake his brother. The apartment was quiet. Jimmy just wanted to sleep, and forget about his father. He wanted his mother to forget about his father. All that man did was hurt her. He wished that man had never been brought up again.

There wasn’t anything Jimmy wanted more than for his mother to be happy. He wasn’t asking for much, but his mother was very stressed out; she had to take care of him, his brother and sister all on her own.

He folded his hands together to pray. Jimmy didn’t pray a lot, but he was desperate for a miracle. “Please, God,” he whispered. “I want my mother to be happy. I’ll do anything. Anything I tell you.” Jimmy hoped that there was someone up there listening to him. But he could only hope, and hope could only do so much.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like Jimmy, he's a good boi. Feel free to leave comments my dudes


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bruh, this took forever. We'll try and be a little more consistent with our updates. Instead of writing, I've just been playing Minecraft because it just be like that. Some edits have been made to the other chapter so you should go back and read them.

“Would anyone like say anything to their father before we wish him goodbye?” Amelie asked. No one said anything―they just shook their heads. The family sat on the couch, dressed up in the nicest clothes they had, with pictures of Foxx on the coffee table in front of them. There were some flowers and lit candles surrounding the photos. Instead of holding a funeral, they decided to do… whatever this was instead. Amelie had suggested it, despite her oldest son being against it.

Jimmy wasn’t even paying attention―he was staring at an old picture of him and his father. The teen remembered when that picture was taken; he must of been around ten. His father had forced him to dress up in nice clothing and forcefully grabbed him when he was trying to rip himself out of the expensive clothes. The only thing good about the photo is that the bruises from when Foxx had grabbed him too hard weren’t visible. 

Eddie wasn’t paying attention, either; He was focused on his older brother’s face. Anne was more interested in playing with the ribbon on the dress she was wearing than mourning the father she barely remembered. Although the silence was unbearable, the three stayed quiet because they knew their mother needed it.

Amelie closed their little “service” with a prayer. She was too tired for this. Too tired to deal with the death of her husband. He rarely cared for her later on in their marriage anyway. Her husband would go on long business trips and then come back only to take out his stress on his own sons. She would always try to stop it, she really did, but it always resulted in him snapping and hurting her. The woman was about the blow out the candles before her son stopped her.

“I’ll clean it up, why don't you head to bed,” Jimmy said.

“I got it, Jimmy, you have work tomorrow,” the widowed mother said.

“Mom, please just let me do this for you. Just get some rest for once,” he begged. Amelie didn’t want to argue with him, so she gave in. 

Her son has been stressed out recently. Even though he should be a sophomore in highschool, he had dropped out. Amelie didn’t agree with it, but the teen had argued that he would be able to work full time. Jimmy was working to make enough money to send Anne and Eddie to college. He knew he wasn’t smart enough to go to college. He wasn’t even smart enough to make it through high school, but maybe he could save up money so his younger siblings could get an education.

After his mother and his siblings went to bed, Jimmy blew out the candles. The light in the room was extremely dim. He grabbed his lighter, that he kept in his sock drawer. Burning the pictures on the table was tempting, but he wouldn’t give in to that desire. So he did the next best thing by taking the flowers and heading out the door as quietly as possible.

It wasn’t windy outside but it was cold. The sky was clear, leaving the stars visible. He headed to the alleyway separating the drug store and his apartment. A small flame came out of the light when he flicked it on. Jimmy held it up to the flowers, one of the petals catching fire; it quickly spread to the rest of them, causing him to drop the flowers on the concrete sidewalk. The bright colored petals quickly withered away in the fire and the growing embers reflected in his hazel brown eyes. He kicked dirt onto them and spat on them. God, he wished those flowers were that photo of him and his father.

 Memories of his father’s harsh voice played in his mind. Harsh beatings that were considered discipline. Later, Jimmy learned the difference between discipline and taking anger out on your child. His mother was forced to submit to that man or else he would hurt her. She never deserved to be in a marriage like that.

When the flowers were burnt to ashes and the fire stopped, Jimmy felt a weight being lifted off his shoulders. He headed back inside after. Eddie was reading at the small rickety desk in their room. The legs looks like they could collapse any second and the desk sometimes shook from all the books Eddie piled on it.

“Hey Jimmy, where ya been?” The younger boy asked.

“I was out, ya know,” Jimmy replied, not giving a clear answer. “Why are you doing up so late anyway? Don’t you have school tomorrow?”

“Just reading I guess.” He shrugged.

“Did mom know I was gone?”

“No, she went to bed with Anne a little while ago,” Eddie stated. “Do you have work tomorrow?”

“Yeah. I gotta help mom with the bills and stuff.” Jimmy didn’t care much for school. He always thought of himself as dumb. His father had probably cracked him in the head too many times.

Eddie closed his book with a sigh. “I guess you’re not planning on going to college, huh?”

“I’m a dropout―and I never planned on going anyway,” the older teen said. He knew he wasn’t smart enough for college, and now it was impossible because he was a lousy dropout. The two boys stripped out of their clothes, leaving them in a heap on the floor, and climbed into their bed. They had to share a bed. When they first moved into the small apartment, they thought it was weird, but after a while they didn’t mind it anymore.

The room was silent for a while, the only sound being the occasional creak in the mattress. Eddie turned to face his brother who he could see was trying to sleep.

“Hey Jim,” Eddie spoke.

“Yeah Ed,” His brother said.

“Do you think mom would ever try and meet someone again?”

“What do you mean?” 

“Well I mean like fall in love or something like. You know what I mean,” the younger boy said. Now Jimmy knew what he meant. He knew Eddie to longed to have a father figure in his life, especially at the age he was now. His real father wasn’t the best person, the only father son moments between them was when he would yell at Eddie for small things that ticked him off. Jimmy was just his older brother and could only do so much.

“She’ll meet someone when she’s ready. I wouldn’t pressure her,” Jimmy answered. He also hoped that his mother would fall in love with someone―someone who cared for her, unlike that wretched man who he had called a father. She needed to move on.

 

“How did it go?” Ash asked Blanca. The two had decided to meet up again. They were sitting on a bench in Central Park, reminding Ash of the talk they had before the incident with Lao. Ash wanted to know the details about Foxx’s family. Although he’d never met them, the blonde already felt a cold hatred for them because of the things Foxx did to him. But he told himself not feel that way. It only made him sound like Yut-Lung and Ash hated the Chinese snake’s guts; the last thing he wanted to do was act like him.

“Good, I guess.” Blanca shrugged. “His wife didn’t cry at all. She just sat there with this contemplating look on her face.” He remembered the expression on her face. It wasn’t like his own when he heard of Natasha’s death; He’d been ridden with grief, and his guilt had turned into a large weight he carried for the rest of his life.

“What about his kids?” Ash asked. His eyes were curious. He’d been wondering how a man like Foxx could have a child, let alone three of them! The world didn’t need anyone with his genes inside of them.

It was hard for Ash to picture Foxx as some family man instead of a cold hearted psychopath who found entertainment in the suffering of others. Memories of Foxx torturing him clouded his mind; sometimes he could still feel the man’s cold, calloused hands on his body.

Ash was pulled out of his thoughts when Blanca spoke. “I never got to tell them. As soon as I mentioned his name, they all stormed off to their rooms. I just assumed their mother told them after I left.”

“What was his family like?” The blonde questioned.

“His wife seemed like a nice woman. She was very kind and invited me in. She even offered me tea. I didn’t see much of her kids, but they were all young. Her sons looked a lot Foxx, especially the older one. They were only teenagers. All of them seemed to be upset at the mention of their father. The oldest had this pissed off look on his face, but didn’t say anything.” 

Blanca thought back to their reactions. The two youngest were as white as ghosts, while the oldest looked ticked off to the point where it looked like he’d have kicked Blanca out of his home if his siblings or mother weren’t in the room.

“So,” Ash began, trying to close the conversation about Foxx. “Are you going back to the Caribbean? You’re finished with your work, so you could disappear again if you want.”

Blanca chuckled and shook his head. “I won’t be going back to the Caribbean. I’m just going to stay in New York.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I can’t go back there. It only reminds me how much of a fool I am to just keep running from my problems.” Blanca couldn’t stand the loneliness back in the Caribbean. It made him feel like he’d failed Natasha. Natasha wouldn’t want him to lay around and mourn for the rest of his life. She would’ve wanted him to move on and be happy, but he felt like he’d be betraying her by going out with other women.

“Also, I kind of want to try being in a relationship again.” Blanca added. Ash already knew about Natasha; Yut Lung told him one day when the two met up to ease the tension between them.

“Haven’t you had plenty of relationships in the Caribbean?” Ash asked.

“Not really.” Blanca shook his head, “Those were mostly one night stands. Nothing more than that.” It was true. He and the women in the Caribbean never had real relationships. They usually left the next day, leaving Blanca even more empty. He genuinely enjoyed the company of the women he met, but he always felt guilty when he thought about Natasha.

“How are you going to start dating? With, y’know…” The younger man asked.

“I’m just going to try my best.” Blanca shrugged.

“Aren’t you a master of seduction? Why don’t you just sweep them their feet with your womanizing ways,” Ash said in a mocking tone.

The man sighed. “I don’t want to force anything.”

“You know what, I’ll be your wingman,” the blonde said.

“Are you serious?”

“I’ve got nothing better to do.” He grinned. “Why not?”

“Okay, I’ll be looking forward to your help.” Blanca shook his hand, like it was some kind of business deal.

“Well, I guess the roles have been reversed. It looks like I’m the mentor and you’re my student.” The blonde laughed.

“Yeah, keep thinking that.” The older man got up.

“I’ll see you soon.” Ash waved goodbye and disappeared into Central Park’s crowd of visitors.

Blanca noted Ash’s behavior. He had changed since the day Blanca met him. His former student was showing signs of healing from his tragic life. It made Blanca determined. Seeing Ash’s life improve more made him optimistic that he could move on from Natasha and learn to love again.

He drove back to his hotel in Brooklyn. The room he booked was not the fanciest hotel room he’s been in, but he could deal with it. It was closer to the area where Foxx’s family lived, so he wouldn’t have to drive a relatively long way to get the job he was asked to do done. Blanca thought of getting an apartment. Ash suggested to buy one of the condos on 6th Avenue but he’d declined the offer. He didn’t see a reason to buy anything that big because he was living by himself.

Blanca sat at the small table in his room, browsing apartments all throughout New York City on a laptop. The moonlight peered through the single window’s curtains.

It wasn’t too late, so Blanca thought it was a good idea to head out to a bar. Drinking to get rid of his problems wasn’t something he enjoyed doing. It didn’t solve anything, his problems temporarily vanished when he was drunk. He wasn’t going out to a bar to get completely smashed; just to think or maybe use his handsome looks and cool personality to charm some women.

After waving goodbye to receptionist, Blanca stepped out into the chilly Brooklyn air. So far, Brooklyn didn’t seem like the rough place it was usually portrayed as, or at least this area didn’t seem that way. Sure it was no fancy place like Manhattan, but most of the people Blanca has interacted with seemed genuinely nice and weren’t the typical cranky, impatient New Yorker stereotype.

Most of the shops were closing up, owners were flipping the _‘closed’_ or locking up. Blanca walked aimlessly for a while, glancing into shop windows occasionally. There was nothing particular to see in these stores, the lights were off and the doors were locked. He spotted a group of teenagers sitting on the steps of an apartment building.

What really caught his eye was the familiarity of one of them. That specific shade light brown hair, thick curly locks with bangs that were parted to the right and just fell above eye covering his eyebrow. Blanca’s suspicions were confirmed once he realized whose apartment steps they were sitting on and the drug store next to it. There was no doubt that the teenager is the son of Eduardo Foxx.

The teenager didn’t seem to notice Blanca as he pulled out a cigarette and lit it, while continuing to talk to his little gang of friends. Blanca knew little about him, but he knows he definitely not old enough to be smoking.

Foxx’s family seemed like an enigma, especially to Ash and the others who helped him defeat Colonel Foxx. Apparently. Yut Lung already knew about the dead mercenary’s family. The Lee clan worked briefly with Foxx while he was an ally of Golzine. He said Foxx and Dino had a short conversation about it in front of him.

Blanca’s gaze caught the teenager’s. It seemed like James didn’t recognize him. He looked more confused as to why some man on the street was staring at him. James tensed a bit and almost looked like he was ready to defend himself. One of his friends noticed and Blanca could overhear him speak to Foxx’s son.

“You alright there, Jimmy?” It was the kid who worked at the drugstore.

“Yeah, I’m alright. Just thinking.” He brushed off his friend’s concern and tore his focus away from Blanca.

Blanca walked right past the teens, but none of them paid attention to him. Even Foxx’s son acted like they didn’t just have an awkward staring contest. They were discussing the latest baseball game they’d watched, and their luck with girls. It smelled like cigarettes and car grease, a smell that probably followed those boys around wherever they went.

The former assassin continued walking. It probably would’ve been a good idea to take a car. After a ten minute walk to the nearest bar that could’ve been a three or four minute drive, Blanca was ready to sit down and have a drink. Not too many, maybe a glass or two.

The bar wasn’t anything super flashy. It had a calm atmosphere, with no booming music playing or drunken men getting into fist fights. He could hear Frank Sinatra playing softly setting the eased mood. Most of the people there were overworked adults and parents who came here to relax. Only one person seemed to be working at the bar counter tonight. The bartender was talking to woman. He looked to be in early forties. Blanca could only see the back of the woman’s head. Her hair was brown and neck short with thick curls. That hairstyle looked oddly familiar. She was the only person sitting at the counter. All the stools were empty besides the one she occupied.

Blanca took a seat a couple seats away from her. Once he sat down, he got a good look at her face. The last thing Blanca expected was to run into two people related to Eduardo Foxx. She must have not seen him sit down because she was too busy with her conversion with the bartender. The two were mostly likely good friends.

God, she was pretty, Blanca had to admit it to himself. He didn’t notice how pretty she was when they first encountered each other. Her soft looking face had peaceful serene features, with big blue eyes that reminded him of the sky. When she smiled and giggled at a joked the bartender made, the man swore a million fireworks went off in his heart.

The bartender went to make a drink leaving her alone. Blanca contemplated if he move his seat next to her. She didn’t look to be drinking or drunk at all. Completely sober. Talking to her seemed wrong. He told her husband was dead, and he even knew how he died. But there was that small chance she’d already forgotten Blanca’s face.

Blanca saw a glass of whiskey being set down in front of him. He looked up and saw the bartender.

“It’s on the house.” He smiled. 

The man mumbled a “thank you” and stared down at his drink. After some thinking, Blanca got up from his seat. He sat down next to Foxx’s wife, who was staring off into space, not paying attention to anything around her. Blanca’s large presence snapped her out of her small trance causing to look up at him.

“Hi,” she said in an awkward tone.

“Hello,” He replied back, somehow sounding more awkward than her. The thick tension in the situation was unmatchable to that of their first meeting. She folded her hands, and twiddled her thumbs deciding if she should speak again.

“How are you?” She asked.

“Good.” The tall man scratched the back of his neck

Foxx’s wife sighed and looked down to avoid eye contact. “I think I’ve seen you before. Maybe not, but you look very familiar.” She definitely remembered, there was no doubt about it. Before Blanca could say something, she asked him another question,

 “Are you the man who told me the news about my husband?” The question made him cringe. He genuinely felt bad for her. The woman was left by her rat husband to take care of three children on her own.

“Yes, I am. I’m sorry about your husband.” Blanca apologized to show his sympathy.

“It’s fine, I’ve gotten over it already. He wasn't really the type of person I should be grieving over.” She mumbled the last sentence but he was able to catch what she said.

Blanca took a sip of his drink as they sat in silence. Foxx’s wife had that same expression of contemplation like the night she found out about Foxx’s death. It made Blanca curious.

“What’s with that face?” He asked.

“It’s nothing. I was just lost in thought.” She replied briefly before adding, “You never told me your name. Isn’t rude of you to start a conversation and not even tell me your name?”

“Yes, I suppose that was quite rude of me, Madam. The name’s Blanca,” the man said, grabbing her hand and kissing it. She laughed lightly at his gesture.

“My name is Amelie,” she introduced herself. “It’s nice to meet you for the second time. I have to say, you must be quite a gentleman.”

Blanca smiled. “And I must say, you are quite a pretty woman.” His compliment caused Amelie to laugh lightly.

“Pretty would be the last word to describe me. I look tired and overly worked. I’m surprised my hair hasn’t started to grey.”

“No, I mean it,” Blanca insisted.

She blushed, “Thanks, I guess. But I don’t know if I should be doing this right now…”

“Hm?” Blanca said. “What do you mean?”

“I can’t―I mean, I have kids.” Amelie hesitated. “I don’t know if, I mean, Jimmy―”

“Right,” Blanca said. “I―I’m sorry. I should’ve given some more thought then to flirt with a single mother. I don’t know if you’re ready for that, or if your kids are―”

Amelie interrupted him by placing a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry about it.” She got up, and, before she left, she added, “anyways, I appreciated the compliment.” Blanca was left alone at the bar counter. He was about to leave when he noticed a napkin on the counter with a number on it and Amelie’s signature. He must’ve been so distracted by the conversation that he didn’t realize her write down her number. Could this be the start of a new beginning for him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 『BRUH MOMENT』

**Author's Note:**

> Hey bruhs leave comments if you want


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